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62-475: North Pier is the most northerly of the three coastal piers in Blackpool , England. Built in the 1860s, it is also the oldest and longest of the three. Although originally intended only as a promenade , competition forced the pier to widen its attractions to include theatres and bars. Unlike Blackpool's other piers, which attracted the working classes with open air dancing and amusements, North Pier catered for

124-503: A new pier to cater for the 'trippers'. In 1866, the government agreed that a second pier could be built, despite objections from the Blackpool Pier Company that it was close to their pier and therefore unnecessary. As permitted by the original parliamentary order, a landing jetty was built at the end of North Pier in incremental stages between 1864 and 1867. The full length of the jetty was 158 yards (144 m), and

186-636: A 60-metre (200 ft) high bungee jump over the North Sea waves. The present pier is a successor of an earlier pier, which was completed in 1901 but in 1943 destroyed by the German occupation forces. The first recorded pier in England was Ryde Pier , opened in 1814 on the Isle of Wight , as a landing stage to allow ferries to and from the mainland to berth. It is still used for this purpose today. It also had

248-565: A denomination of sterling coinage worth 1 ⁄ 240 of one pound or 1 ⁄ 12 of one shilling . Its symbol was d , from the Roman denarius . It was a continuation of the earlier English penny , and in Scotland it had the same monetary value as one pre-1707 Scottish shilling. The penny was originally minted in silver, but from the late 18th century it was minted in copper, and then after 1860 in bronze. The plural of "penny"

310-642: A leisure function in the past, with the pier head once containing a pavilion, and there are still refreshment facilities today. The oldest cast iron pier in the world is Town Pier, Gravesend , in Kent , which opened in 1834. However, it is not recognised by the National Piers Society as being a seaside pier. Following the building of the world's first seaside pier at Ryde, the pier became fashionable at seaside resorts in England and Wales during

372-666: A linear littoral quayside, and such piers are usually much shorter. Typically each pier would carry a single transit shed the length of the pier, with ships berthing bow or stern in to the shore. Some major ports consisted of large numbers of such piers lining the foreshore, classic examples being the Hudson River frontage of New York , or the Embarcadero in San Francisco . The advent of container shipping , with its need for large container handling spaces adjacent to

434-477: A new pier was built in 1933. It remained till the present day, but was partially transformed and modernized in 1999–2004. In Nieuwpoort, Belgium there is a pleasure pier on both sides of the river IJzer . Scheveningen , the coastal resort town of The Hague , boasts the largest pier in the Netherlands , completed in 1961. A crane, built on top of the pier's panorama tower, provides the opportunity to make

496-445: A penny this worked out to be one ounce of copper). This requirement meant that the coins would be significantly larger than the silver pennies minted previously. The large size of the coins, combined with the thick rim where the inscription was incuse i.e. punched into the metal rather than standing proud of it, led to the coins being nicknamed "cartwheels". These pennies were minted over the course of several years, but all are marked with

558-566: A pier has two decks. Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier in Galveston , Texas has a roller coaster, 15 rides, carnival games and souvenir shops. Early pleasure piers were of complete timber construction, as was with Margate which opened in 1824. The first iron and timber built pleasure pier Margate Jetty , opened in 1855. Margate pier was wrecked by a storm in January 1978 and not repaired. The longest iron pleasure pier still remaining

620-456: A pier presents a set of different circumstances to fishing from the shore or beach, as you do not need to cast out into the deeper water. This being the case there are specific fishing rigs that have been created specifically for pier fishing which allow for the direct access to deeper water. In Blankenberge a first pleasure pier was built in 1894. After its destruction in the World War I ,

682-455: A promenade 468 yards (428 m) long and 9 yards (8.2 m) wide, extending to 18 yards (16 m) wide at the pier-head. The bulk of the pier was constructed from cast iron , with a wooden deck laid on top. The cast iron piles on which the structure rests were inserted using Birch's screw pile process; the screw-tipped piles were twisted into the sand until they hit bedrock. This made construction much quicker and easier, and guaranteed that

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744-620: A smaller amount of copper. In 1857 a survey by the Royal Mint found that around one third of all copper coinage was worn or mutilated, often by advertisements. Two years later Thomas Graham , the Master of the Mint, convinced William Ewart Gladstone , then Chancellor of the Exchequer , that so large a part of the copper coinage must be taken out of circulation that it was worth introducing

806-410: A stage and sun lounge. In 1936, a pleasure steamer returning from Llandudno crashed into the pier. The collision left a 10 feet (3.0 m) gap, and stranded a number of people at the far end. The 1874 Indian Pavilion was severely damaged by fire in 1921. It was refurbished, but was then destroyed by a second fire in 1938. In 1939 it was replaced by a theatre, built in an Art Deco style. At around

868-442: A theatre, a carousel and an arcade. One of the oldest remaining Sooty glove puppets is on display commemorating Harry Corbett buying the original puppet there. North Pier was built at the seaward end of Talbot Road, where the town's first railway station, Blackpool North , was built. Its name reflects its location as the most northerly of Blackpool's three piers. It is about 450 yards (410 m) north of Blackpool Tower , which

930-404: A whole new coinage which would be "much more convenient and agreeable in use". These new coins were minted in bronze, and their specifications were no longer constrained by the onerous requirement that their face value should match the value of the base metal used to make the coin. They were introduced in 1860 and a year later the withdrawal of the old copper coinage began. The specifications of

992-521: Is " pence " (often added as an unstressed suffix) when referring to an amount of money, and "pennies" when referring to a number of coins. Thus 8 d is eightpence or eight pence, but "eight pennies" means specifically eight individual penny coins. Before Decimal Day in 1971, sterling used the Carolingian monetary system ( £sd ), under which the largest unit was a pound (£) divisible into 20 shillings (s), each of 12 pence (d). The pre-decimal penny

1054-702: Is a Grade II Listed building , the only Blackpool pier to hold that status. It was recognised as "Pier of the Year" in 2004 by the National Piers Society . North Pier's attractions include a Gypsy palm reader and an ice cream parlour, the North Pier Theatre, a Victorian tea room , and the Carousel and Merrie England bars. The arcade , built in the 1960s, has approximately eleven million coins pass through its machines each year. One of

1116-647: Is at Southend-on-Sea , Essex , and extends 1.3 miles (2.1 km) into the Thames Estuary . The longest pier on the West Coast of the US is the Santa Cruz Wharf , with a length of 2,745 feet (837 m). Providing a walkway out to sea, pleasure piers often include amusements and theatres as part of their attractions. Such a pier may be unroofed, closed, or partly open and partly closed. Sometimes

1178-651: Is classified as the largest beer garden in Blackpool. Next to the bar is a two tier carousel , the "Venetian Carousel", which is protected from sand and spray by a glass wall. After the fire in 1938, the pavilion was replaced with a 1,564-seat theatre which has since hosted a number of acts including; Frankie Vaughan , Frank Randle , Tessie O'Shea , Dave Morris , Bernard Delfont , Morecambe and Wise , Paul Daniels , Freddie Starr , Russ Abbot , Bruce Forsyth , Des O'Connor , Joe Longthorne , Cannon & Ball , Lily Savage , Brian Conley and Hale and Pace . In 2020,

1240-610: Is roughly the midpoint of Blackpool's promenade . The sea front is particularly straight and flat on this stretch of coastline, and the 550 yards (500 m) pier extends at right angles into the Irish Sea , more or less level with the promenade. The construction of Blackpool Pier (eventually North Pier) started in May 1862, in Layton-cum-Warbreck, part of the parish of Bispham . In October 1862 severe storms suggested that

1302-477: Is the one at Southend. First opened as a wooden pier in 1829, it was reconstructed in iron and completed in 1889. In a 2006 UK poll, the public voted the seaside pier onto the list of icons of England. Many piers are built for the purpose of providing boatless anglers access to fishing grounds that are otherwise inaccessible. Many "Free Piers" are available in larger harbors which differ from private piers. Free Piers are often primarily used for fishing. Fishing from

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1364-580: The Parys Mining Company on Anglesey issued huge numbers of tokens (although their acceptability was strictly limited). In 1797, the government authorised Matthew Boulton to strike copper pennies and twopences at his Soho Mint in Birmingham . At the time it was believed that the face value of a coin should correspond to the value of the material it was made from, so they had respectively to contain one or two pence worth of copper (for

1426-529: The Victorian age . Piers can be categorized into different groupings according to the principal purpose. However, there is considerable overlap between these categories. For example, pleasure piers often also allow for the docking of pleasure steamers and other similar craft, while working piers have often been converted to leisure use after being rendered obsolete by advanced developments in cargo-handling technology. Many piers are floating piers, to ensure that

1488-571: The Victorian era , peaking in the 1860s with 22 being built in that decade. A symbol of the typical British seaside holiday, by 1914, more than 100 pleasure piers were located around the UK coast. Regarded as being among the finest Victorian architecture, there are still a significant number of seaside piers of architectural merit still standing, although some have been lost, including Margate , two at Brighton in East Sussex , one at New Brighton in

1550-578: The Wirral and three at Blackpool in Lancashire . Two piers, Brighton's now derelict West Pier and Clevedon Pier , were Grade 1 listed . The Birnbeck Pier in Weston-super-Mare is the only pier in the world linked to an island. The National Piers Society gives a figure of 55 surviving seaside piers in England and Wales. Old pence The British pre-decimal penny was

1612-507: The health of sandy beaches and navigation channels . Pleasure piers were first built in Britain during the early 19th century. The earliest structures were Ryde Pier , built in 1813/4, Trinity Chain Pier near Leith, built in 1821, Brighton Chain Pier , built in 1823. and Margate Jetty 1823/24 originally a timber built pier. Only the oldest of these piers still remains. At that time,

1674-467: The " better-class " market, with orchestra concerts and respectable comedians. Until 2011, it was the only Blackpool pier that consistently charged admission. The pier is designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building , due to its status as the oldest surviving pier created by Eugenius Birch . As of 2021, it is still in regular use, despite having suffered damage from fires, storms and collisions with boats. Its attractions include bars,

1736-580: The "Indian Pavilion", and it was Blackpool's primary venue for indoor entertainment until the Winter Gardens opened in 1879. To differentiate itself from the new pier, North Pier focused on catering for the "better classes", charging for entry and including attractions such as an orchestra and band concerts, in contrast to the Central Pier (or the "People's pier"), which regularly had music playing and open-air dancing. The pier owners highlighted

1798-633: The Crowns in 1603, and in 1707 Scots currency ceased to be legal tender, with sterling to be used throughout Great Britain. The penny replaced the Scots shilling . The design and specifications of the sterling penny were unchanged by unification, and it continued to be minted in silver after 1707. Queen Anne's reign saw pennies minted in 1708, 1709, 1710 and 1713. These issues, however, were not for general circulation, instead being minted as Maundy money . The prohibitive cost of minting silver coins had meant

1860-675: The Six Piers group, which owns Blackpool's other two piers, and hoped to use it as a more tranquil alternative to them. The new owners opened the Victorian-themed tea room, and built an eight-seat shuttle running the length of the pier. In April 2011, the pier was sold to a Blackpool family firm, Sedgwick's, the owners of amusement arcades and the big wheel on Blackpool's Central Pier . Peter Sedgwick explained that he proposed to his wife on North Pier forty years ago, and promised to buy it for her one day. He said that he wants to restore

1922-668: The Victorian heritage of the pier and re-instate the pier's tram. An admission charge of fifty pence to access the board-walk section of the pier was abolished by the Sedgwicks. A petition to wind up the Northern Victorian Pier Limited (the company used by the Sedgwick family to manage Blackpool North Pier) was presented on 17 September 2012 by Carlsberg UK Limited , a creditor of the company, and this

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1984-412: The bronze version of the penny were a mass of 9.45 g (0.333 oz) and a diameter of 30.86 mm (1.215 in), and remained as such for over a hundred years. Pennies were minted every year of Queen Victoria 's reign, and every year of Edward VII 's reign. George V pennies were produced every year to the same standard until 1922, but after a three-year gap in production the alloy composition

2046-457: The date 1797. By 1802, the production of privately issued provincial tokens had ceased. However, in the next ten years the intrinsic value of copper rose. The return of privately minted token coinage was evident by 1811 and endemic by 1812, as more and more of the government-issued copper coinage was melted down. The Royal Mint undertook a massive recoinage programme in 1816 , with large quantities of gold and silver coin being minted. To thwart

2108-607: The date 1967, until 1970). The 97% copper, 0.5% tin, 2.5% zinc alloy was used again for the 1960s pennies. Finally, there was an issue of proof quality coins dated 1970 produced to bid farewell to the denomination. Note: The mintage figures where "H" or "KN" follows the year relates to coins minted with that particular mint mark. "H" refers to the Heaton Mint , and "KN" to the King's Norton Mint, both of which were contracted to mint supplemental pennies on occasion. From 1825 to 1970

2170-430: The difference, charging at least a shilling (worth approximately £19.90 in 2012) for concerts and ensuring that advertisements for comedians focused on their lack of vulgarity. Sundays were given over to a church parade. On 8 October 1892, a storm-damaged vessel, Sirene , hit the southern side of the pier, causing four shops and part of the deck to collapse onto the beach below. Several columns were also dislodged, and

2232-458: The earliest Sooty bear puppets used by Harry Corbett is on display on the pier. Corbett bought the original Sooty puppet on North Pier for his son, Matthew . When Corbett took the puppet on BBC's Talent Night programme, he marked the nose and ears with soot so that they would show up on the black and white television , giving the puppet its name. The Carousel bar on the pier-head has a Victorian wrought iron canopy, and its outdoor sun-lounge

2294-426: The extensions increased the pier's total length to its current 550 yards (500 m). The Blackpool Pier Company used the jetty to operate pleasure steamers that made trips to the surrounding areas. In 1871 swimming and diving lessons were added to the pier. In 1874, the pier-head was extended to allow Richard Knill Freeman to incorporate a pavilion, which opened in 1877. The interior decoration led it to be known as

2356-465: The final 50 yards (46 m) had not yet been completed. All the shops in the area were closed and decorated with flags and streamers for the ceremony, which included a procession and a cannon salute, and was attended by more than 20,000 visitors. Although the town only had a population of approximately 4,000, more than 200,000 holiday makers regularly stayed there during the summer months; this included 275,000 admissions in 1863, 400,000 in 1864 and 465,000

2418-599: The fishing and cargo industries and serves as a port for large cruise ships in the area. Many other working piers have been demolished, or remain derelict, but some have been recycled as pleasure piers. The best known example of this is Pier 39 in San Francisco . At Southport and the Tweed River on the Gold Coast in Australia , there are piers that support equipment for a sand bypassing system that maintains

2480-528: The following year. The pier was officially opened by Major Preston, and he and 150 officials then travelled to the Clifton Hotel for a celebratory meal. The pier was intended primarily for leisure rather than seafaring; for the price of 2 d (worth approximately £4.90 in 2012) the pier provided the opportunity for visitors to walk close to the sea without distractions. This fee was insufficient to deter "trippers'", which led to Major Preston campaigning for

2542-498: The foundation stones of new buildings; one of these coins was stolen when a church in Leeds was demolished in the 1960s, and its whereabouts is unknown. A few pennies of Edward VIII exist, dated 1937, but technically they are pattern coins i.e. coins produced for official approval, which it would probably have been due to receive about the time that the King abdicated . Pennies were not minted every year of George VI 's reign: None

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2604-407: The further issuance of private token coinage, in 1817 an Act of Parliament was passed which forbade the manufacture of private token coinage under very severe penalties. Copper coins continued to be minted after 1797, through the reigns of George III , George IV and William IV , and the early reign of Queen Victoria . These later coins were smaller than the cartwheel pennies of 1797, and contained

2666-453: The introduction of steamships and railways for the first time permitted mass tourism to dedicated seaside resorts . The large tidal ranges at many such resorts meant that passengers arriving by pleasure steamer could use a pier to disembark safely. Also, for much of the day, the sea was not visible from the shore and the pleasure pier permitted holidaymakers to promenade over and alongside the sea at all times. The world's longest pleasure pier

2728-433: The kiosks were occupied by a bookstall and confectionery stall and the kiosks near the ends of the pier were seated shelters. The pier-head is a combination of 420 tons of cast iron and 340 tons of wrought iron columns; standing 50 feet (15 m) above the low water line, it sees a regular 35 feet (11 m) change in sea level due to the tide. The pier was officially opened in a grand ceremony on 21 May 1863, even though

2790-523: The large number of pennies in circulation there was no need to produce any more in the 1950s, however a large number of specimen sets were issued in 1953 for Elizabeth II's Coronation . At least one 1954 penny was struck, apparently for private internal purposes at the Royal Mint, but it was not until 1961 that there was a need for more pennies to be minted, and production continued each year until 1967, and afterwards (as pennies continued to be minted with

2852-435: The pier gained the Carousel bar as an additional attraction, and a small tramway to ease access to the pier-head. By this point, the pier had ceased to have any nautical use, but the jetty section was adapted for use as a helicopter pad in the late 1980s. The Christmas Eve storm of 1997 destroyed the landing jetty, including the helipad. The North Pier is one of the few remaining examples of Birch's classic pier architecture and

2914-514: The pier had a solid foundation. The cast iron columns , 12 inches (300 mm) in diameter, were filled with concrete for stability at intervals of 20 yards (18 m), and supported by struts that were on average were slightly more than 1 inch (25 mm) thick. The pier's promenade deck is lined with wooden benches with ornamental cast iron backs. At intervals along the pier are hexagonal kiosks built around 1900 in wood and glass with minaret roofs topped with decorative finials . On opening two of

2976-461: The pier stretching far enough off shore to reach deep water at low tide. Such piers provided an economical alternative to impounded docks where cargo volumes were low, or where specialist bulk cargo was handled, such as at coal piers . The other form of working pier, often called the finger pier, was built at ports with smaller tidal ranges. Here the principal advantage was to give a greater available quay length for ships to berth against compared to

3038-603: The piers raise and lower with the tide along with the boats tied to them. This prevents a situation where lines become overly taut or loose by rising or lowering tides. An overly taut or loose tie-line can damage boats by pulling them out of the water or allowing them so much leeway that they bang forcefully against the sides of the pier. Working piers were built for the handling of passengers and cargo onto and off ships or (as at Wigan Pier ) canal boats. Working piers themselves fall into two different groups. Longer individual piers are often found at ports with large tidal ranges , with

3100-460: The planned height of the pier was insufficient, and it was increased by 3 feet (0.91 m). North Pier was the second of fourteen piers designed by Eugenius Birch , and since Margate Pier was destroyed by a storm in 1978, it is the oldest of the remaining examples of his work still in use. It was the first of Birch's piers to be built by Glasgow engineering firm Richard Laidlaw and Son. The pier, which cost £11,740 to build, originally consisted of

3162-473: The same time, the bandstand was removed and replaced with a sun lounge . In the 1960s, the Merrie England bar and an amusement arcade were constructed at the end of the pier nearest to the shore. The 1939 theatre, which is still in use, narrowly escaped damage in 1985 when the early stages of a fire were noticed by performer Vince Hill . In the 1980s, a Victorian -styled entrance was built. In 1991

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3224-400: The ship broke up during December storms. The pier was closed for the winter during 1895–96 as it was unsafe; as a result, the pier was widened as electric lighting was added. An Arcade Pavilion was added in 1903 at the entrance to the pier and contained a wide range of amusements to suit all tastes. Further alterations were made to the pier in 1932-33 when the open air stand was replaced with

3286-415: The ship's bowsprit hit the pier entrance. All eleven crew members were rescued when they were hauled onto the pier. Damage to the pier was estimated to be £5,000 and was promptly repaired. Nelson 's former flagship, HMS Foudroyant , was moored alongside North Pier for an exhibition, but slipped anchor and was wrecked on the shore in a violent storm on 16 June 1897, damaging part of the jetty. The wreck of

3348-504: The shipping berths, has made working piers obsolete for the handling of general cargo, although some still survive for the handling of passenger ships or bulk cargos. One example, is in use in Progreso, Yucatán , where a pier extends more than 4 miles into the Gulf of Mexico , making it the longest pier in the world. The Progreso Pier supplies much of the peninsula with transportation for

3410-436: The size of pennies had been reduced over the years, with the minting of silver pennies for general circulation being halted in 1660. The practice of minting pennies only for Maundy money continued through the reigns of George I and George II , and into that of George III . However, by George III's reign there was a shortage of pennies such that a great many merchants and mining companies issued their own copper tokens e.g.

3472-491: The theatre was renamed the Joe Longthorne Theatre, in memory of Longthorne who had died the year before and who had performed there for over 20 seasons. In 2002 a heritage room with photographs was opened up, the foyer entrance was refurbished and a disabled lift added. By 2005, there was no longer a live organist playing in the sun lounge although other live entertainment continues. In 2013, the live organist

3534-531: The world. Thus in North America and Australia , where many ports were, until recently, built on the multiple pier model, the term tends to imply a current or former cargo-handling facility. In contrast, in Europe , where ports more often use basins and river-side quays than piers, the term is principally associated with the image of a Victorian cast iron pleasure pier. However, the earliest piers pre-date

3596-408: Was brought back into the sun lounge. The pier was built and owned by the Blackpool Pier Company, created with three thousand £5-shares in 1861 (worth approximately £2,990 in 2012). The same firm operated the pier in 1953, and the company was incorporated in 1965. The Resorts Division of First Leisure, including the pier, was sold to Leisure Parks for £74 million in 1998. In 2009, the pier was sold to

3658-401: Was changed to 95.5% copper, 3% tin and 1.5% zinc, although the weight and size remained unchanged (which was necessary because of the existence by then of large numbers of coin-operated amusement machines and public telephones). Thereafter, pennies were minted every year for the remainder of George V's reign, although only six or seven 1933 coins were minted, specifically for the king to lay under

3720-509: Was demonetised on 1 September 1971, just over six months after decimalisation, and replaced (in effect) by the decimal half new penny , with + 1 ⁄ 2 p being worth 1.2 d . The kingdoms of England and Scotland were merged by the 1707 Act of Union , to form the Kingdom of Great Britain . The exchange rate between £1 Scots and £1 sterling had been fixed at 12:1 since the Union of

3782-496: Was minted in 1941, 1942 and 1943. Pennies minted in 1950 and 1951 were for overseas use only. One 1952 penny, believed to be unique, was struck by the Royal Mint. The worldwide shortage of tin during the Second World War caused a change in the alloy in 1944 to 97% copper, 0.5% tin, 2.5% zinc, but this bronze tarnishes unattractively, and the original 95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc alloy was restored in 1945. Because of

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3844-416: Was to be heard at Blackpool County Court on 15 November 2012. At the 11th hour, an agreement to pay the outstanding balance owed to Carlsberg was made and Peter Sedgwick's company escaped liquidation. Pier Piers have been built for several purposes, and because these different purposes have distinct regional variances, the term pier tends to have different nuances of meaning in different parts of

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